Jordan Only Average in Victory

A 19-point first-half deficit? That’s nothing for the Chicago Bulls, not when Michael Jordan is having an average night.

Jordan matched his scoring average with 29 points as the Bulls rallied from 19 points down in the first half to beat Portland, 100-87, Thursday night at Portland, Ore., their sixth consecutive victory over the Trail Blazers over the last three years.

“He’s the best player ever to play the game,” Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “Who’s the best point guard in the league? Michael Jordan. Who’s the best two guard in the league? Michael Jordan. He’s the best ‘three’ in the league too. He’d probably be the best ‘four’ or ‘five’ if he tried it.”

After each of his game-clinching jumpers, Jordan turned and stared at the Portland bench as if to say, “Remember who I am.”

“I just wanted to put the nail in the coffin,” Jordan said. “I felt like J.R. [Rider] had lost his legs a little, and I still had mine.”

Scottie Pippen scored seven of his 18 points in a fourth-quarter flurry as Jordan rested on the bench, then came in to help Chicago to an 8-2 spurt over the final three minutes.

Ron Harper scored 17 and Luc Longley 14 for the Bulls, who have won six of seven and were on the second stop of a six-game road trip that brings them to town Sunday to play the Lakers. Dennis Rodman had 20 rebounds as Chicago dominated the boards, 47-38, including a 16-9 edge in offensive rebounds.

Pippen and Longley also had eight assists apiece.

“You know they were going to make a run. They’re a championship team,” Portland’s Kenny Anderson said. “They killed us on the boards in the second half. We just didn’t do the things that got us the lead and they capitalized off that.”

Orlando 95, Houston 88--Penny Hardaway had 11 points and five assists in his first game since Dec. 6 as the Magic ended a seven-game losing streak at Houston.

Hardaway didn’t start but played 31 minutes. The All-Star guard missed seven of eight shots from the field, but made nine free throws and had two steals and two blocks.

The Magic led by 17 points in the third quarter before the Rockets rallied. Houston closed to 86-85 with 2:28 left in the game after a 10-2 run.

But that’s as close as the Rockets got. The Magic made nine free throws down the stretch, including the last four by Derek Strong.

Seattle 109, Golden State 97--Gary Payton scored 30 points and Vin Baker had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the SuperSonics at Seattle.

The Warriors cut Seattle’s lead to 86-78 on a driving five-foot bank shot by Brian Shaw with 8:14 to go, but Detlef Schrempf’s short jump hook and a three-point basket by Dale Ellis gave Seattle a 91-78 lead with 6:46 left.

Donyell Marshall had 18 points for Golden State. Joe Smith, the Warriors’ leading scorer with a 17.0 average, was held to nine points.

Toronto 84, Denver 80--Damon Stoudamire scored 22 points, including the final four of the game, as the Raptors extended their winning streak to a franchise-best four games at Denver.

The loss extended Denver’s home losing streak to a franchise-record 11 games and marked another step toward the worst single-season record in NBA history.

Denver led, 80-78, with 2:53 remaining, but failed to score the rest of the way.

Milwaukee 115, New York 112--Michael Curry’s follow shot with five seconds left in overtime gave the Bucks a victory at New York.

Glenn Robinson scored 39 points and Ray Allen had 26 for Milwaukee, including a game-tying three-point basket with five seconds remaining in regulation.

Atlanta 109, Philadelphia 99--Steve Smith of the Hawks scored 33 points, including four in the final 31 seconds of regulation and six in overtime at Atlanta.

The Hawks, who are 5-1 in overtime this season, scored the first nine points of the extra period. Smith’s shot from the corner gave Atlanta its first lead of the game, and he added four more points and Mookie Blaylock made a three-point play as Atlanta raced to a 105-94 lead.

Minnesota 112, Vancouver 106--Stephon Marbury scored 18 of his 31 points in the second half and the Timberwolves, despite playing without two regulars, beat the Grizzlies at Vancouver.

Already minus Tom Gugliotta, who suffered a sprained left knee in Tuesday’s victory over Atlanta, the Timberwolves lost guard Chris Carr eight minutes into the game with a sprained left ankle.

X-rays were negative and it wasn’t known whether Carr would be available for tonight’s game against the Lakers.